Squeeze each sausage out of its casing into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a small ball. Set a large pot over a medium heat, once hot add a good amount of olive oil and begin to brown the sausage meatballs. Remove from the pot once nicely golden.

Add the onions and a pinch of salt to the same pan along with some more oil if it needs, scraping up all that flavour on the base of the pot from the sausages. After a few minutes, add the garlic, chilli flakes, and fennel seeds. Continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.

Tip in the tin of cherry tomatoes, chicken stock, water, the sausage meatballs, basil stalks, thyme and parmesan rind (if using). Bring to a simmer then add the pasta, sugar and a good grind of black pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with parmesan, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil leaves and dig innn!